SBS Philippines Corp., a listed chemical trader that is venturing into property development, said its unit is acquiring a minority interest in one of the Hong Kong firms that’s also majority-owned by the Sytengco family.
The company said its unit SBS Holdings and Enterprises Corp. is acquiring a 4.25-percent equity interests in Joune Holding Ltd. (JHL) for P77 million.
JHL has entered into a purchase agreement to acquire Maxco International Development Ltd., another Hong Kong property holding company. Maxco owns, directly and indirectly through its wholly owned subsidiaries, contiguous parcels of land located in Tuen Mun, New Territories, Hong Kong. The firm owns a combined 4,641.7-square meters of property.
SBS did not state how much it is buying Maxco.
The investment of SBS and the acquisition of the Hong Kong property holdings by JHL are set to close within the month, the company said.
“The investment is in furtherance of the diversification and investment strategy of the SBS Group to invest in small ownership stake in companies investing in real properties to have a more diversified interests in different property holdings at a lower capital requirement and risk exposure to the company,” it said.
The Sytengcos also own a majority of SBS.
New directors
THE announcement of the purchase came after SBS said it has appointed two new independent directors, as part of the company’s foray into property development.
SBS said its board has elected Roberto F. Anonas Jr. and Yvonne C. Lih as its new independent non-executive directors of the company. The directors assumed their position effective on October 9.
Anonas and Lih will hold office as independent directors until the next annual meeting of the shareholders and at which meeting they will be eligible for reelection, the company said.
Anonas, 62, succeeded Rosaleo M. Montenegro, who has tendered his resignation as an independent director on October 9. Montenegro served as independent director of the company since July 2015.
Meanwhile, Lih, 66, is a certified public accountant and licensed real-estate broker and holds a masters degree in business administration from the Ateneo Graduate School of Business and is a graduate of the University of Negros Occidental-Recoletos, magna cum laude.
Lih replaced Victorina B. Ladringan, who has tendered her resignation as executive director and chief investment officer of the company.
Ladringan relinquished her positions in the company following her assignment as president of SBS unit SBS Holdings and Enterprises Corp.
“This move is in line with the SBS group corporate restructuring to allow the company’s property-related business to benefit from the strategic focus of a dedicated board and management team and promote a strong good corporate governance culture,” the company said.